Chapter 29

Jake satat Dana's kitchen island, watching Claire through tendrils of steam from his coffee. She was perched on the barstool next to him, her fingers swiftly dancing over the keyboard. A curtain of black hair surrounded the boney shoulders protruding from the wide neck of the oversized black sweater she wore, and every few minutes her staccato of typing was interrupted just long enough for her to push her cat eye glasses back up her button nose.

All wide-eyes and lanky limbs hunched over a keyboard—Claire was a scene straight out of an anime comic, but Jake couldn't help thinking this was the most alive he'd seen the girl he'd affectionately nicknamed Elvira.

He also couldn't help thinking that Dana was wrong for buying into Dr. Dvita's assessment.

Claire wasn't the damaged, fragile girl Dvita was peddling. If anything, Jake thought she was doing remarkably well after all she'd gone through. He'd seen cases like this before, where doctors prolonged treatment just to keep collecting a check. But he'd be damned if he'd let that happen to Claire.

"So, what else do you need from me?" Jake asked.

Claire gave him a sideways glance. "Um, patience would be nice. We just started looking, and since you don't have anything besides a name and birthdate it's not exactly a lot to go on, but you knew that already. I mean, finding people is like your thing, right?"

He huffed a laugh. "Yeah, in the middle of a war zone maybe, but this isn't like tracking a terrorist. I'm looking for a civilian. Besides, you're the research genius. I thought you might have some tricks up your sleeve."

"What do you think I've been doing? Playing D D?"

He arched a brow. "I'm not even going to pretend I know what that means."

Claire smirked. "Some Secret Agent Man." She turned her attention back to the laptop to continue typing.

"Do you think Dana'd be into helping us with this project?" Jake asked.

"Are you kidding? She's a professional researcher. She lives for this stuff. Plus, it's for you. Putting you first is her favorite hobby."

Before Jake could ask what Claire meant by that, she was turning the laptop toward him. "This website is probably your best bet for tracking someone down who doesn't want to be found."

Jake blinked at the dark web portal staring back at him. "How do you know about a site like this?"

"Research genius, remember?" she teased.

Jake took a sip of his coffee and skimmed the website. Everything and anything was available for purchase. In his line of work he knew black market hubs like this existed, but it was alarming how easily Claire had been able to gain access.

"Do you use sites like this often at the Smithsonian?"

"How do you think Dr. Gray and I satisfy our taste for vampire blood?" Claire mocked.

"Very funny, Elvira."

She grinned. "Occult artifacts aren't exactly lining the shelves of an Amazon warehouse. Sites like these are the best resource for tracking down things that shouldn't exist. Spell kits, sacred bones, moon stones, ritualistic tools. Most of them are hoaxes, but every once in a while, we find a genuine artifact."

"Like that mask I broke?" Jake asked. "Think we could find another one on here?"

Claire laughed. "No, that was a one of a kind artifact from the African Kazanzi. It was worn during voodoo funerals to keep death away from the living. It was on loan from a museum in New Orleans."

Jake cringed. "What was it doing in Dana's house?"

"Her work on tracing the origin of vampirism is highly sought after. She'd just managed to link the original Venetian vampiric cult to one that appeared in early eighteenth-century New Orleans when I started working for her. The museum loaned her the mask to help prove her research along with a grant to continue researching her theory in New Orleans, but she never went."

"What stopped her?"

Claire's clear blue eyes bore straight into him before she answered. "You did."

"What?"

"You barged into her office with a case folder and dragged us into a world with different kinds of monsters than the ones we study."

There was no accusation in Claire's voice, but Jake felt it all the same. "Claire, I never wanted this life for either of you. If I knew what would come of all of this, I never would've set foot in the Smithsonian."

She gave him a tight smile. "Yes you would. It's what you do. Actually, it's what we all do, I guess. We bring light to the darkness in the world."

Jake nodded, knowing she was right. He talked a good game, but he'd been given a direct order to bring Dana onto that FBI case with Cramer. Of course, he hadn't known his former boss's motive at the time, but back then Jake wasn't one to disobey orders. And even though he wished he could've spared Dana and Claire the pain being thrust into his life had caused them, he didn't know how to reconcile the fact that he'd do it all again, if it meant having them in his life. The alternative was too damn depressing.

The only thing he could do now was try to make amends.

"Well, technically, I'm still on leave, and it looks like you've got some free time. Maybe it's time to take that trip to New Orleans."

Claire perked up. "Really?"

"Yeah, why not? I've got an old Army buddy who lives there. We could reconnect while you and Dana do your thing."

"I would love that."

"Yeah?" A ghost of a smile played on Jake's lips. "Me too. It'd be nice to get things back to normal."

Claire gave him a heavy dose of side eye. "You're calling vampire research normal now?"

"Okay, so maybe not normal, but normal enough for a couple of occult librarians," he snarked.

Claire frowned. "I'm not actually a librarian. I should be, but after dropping out of my PhD program and getting fired, I'm not really sure where I stand."

"Dana said she'd have you back when you're ready. And school will be there when you're ready, too."

"But what if I'm never ready?" Claire asked, her mood suddenly somber.

"Hey, you will be. We're gonna get through this. Me and Dana are here to help you. And if you don't think Dr. Dvita is the right fit, we'll find you someone else or no one else if you think that's better."

"No, I want to keep seeing Dr. Dvita. He's helping me face my addiction and learn how to cope with my trauma."

"You sure? ‘Cause he didn't exude a whole lot of bedside manner from what I saw. With Passages shut down it might not hurt to get a second opinion."

Claire gave him a knowing look. "You mean while you do a background check on Dvita?"

He held his hands up to convey innocence. "No one said anything about that."

"You forget I'm on your laptop, Secret Agent Man. You should really wipe your search history more often."

Jake pulled the FBI issued laptop away from her. "Hey, can you blame me? I look out for the people I love. That includes you."

Claire blinked her big blue eyes like Jake had just told her the earth was flat. "You love me?"

"Of course. You and Dana are family."

Claire looked down, her cheeks blushing. "Earlier, when you came running into the kitchen in a towel, I kinda got the feeling you and Dana were more than just family."

"Would that be so bad?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I kinda like things the way they are."

Sensing Claire was less than receptive to the conversation, Jake changed the subject. "Well, I guess we've got enough on our plates as they are. Speaking of plates, I'm starving. Wanna place a to-go order for Dana to pick up?"

Claire brightened. "Thaiphoon?"

"You know it!"